So Guess What.
Yup...
You guessed right.
The cranberries and apples (and now add some plumes in there too) are still in the fridge.  They still need to be 'dealt with'.
Just for fun let's add about 7 pounds of green tomatoes to that.
Yup.  All there.  Sitting in my fridge.  Wondering when they're going to turn into something wonderful.
Since I'm surrounded by piles of paper from school, work, mail and anywhere else you can imagine, and since I'm also trying to dig my out of a mountain of laundry that never seems to disappear AND since I'm feeling pretty beat up from lack of sleep (poor kid #2 was up a lot last night moaning with a soar throat and cough - guess what though... today he's fine... I'm the mess)... I'm just giving up, raising the white flag, rolling over, putting my head in the proverbial sand, shoving it down so deep that not even I'll ever find it again.
It's too depressing... and the sun is shining today.  That's not going to happen much in Toronto for the next little while (read:  about 3 1/2 months).  I'm going to forget all that crap I just wrote about and go and get out for a while.
But not before I tell you what I did with myself yesterday...


I'm so excited because I love food like this.
Simple.
Pretty.
Tasty.
Utilising scissors.


Who's not going to love squidgy flatbread with awesome stuff on the top?  I made soup to go with it and that was the best idea ever.  The soup is coming next and let's just say there's a little maple surprise in there.   We all ate until our bellies were full and we felt so good about it.  A little indulgence can go a long way.
I'm apologising in advance to you all for the lack hallowe'en recipes.  You won't find any cut-off finger cookies or eyeball eggs or whatever the hell everybody makes at this time of year.  Not because I'm a bah-humbug (although I am that) but because I'm damn lazy and I don't want to eat food that looks like something other than food.  There... I said it.
Enjoy the Focaccia.


 Focaccia with Cavalo Negro Kale and goat cheese adapted from 'Simply in Season'

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp (or 1 packet) active dry yeast
pinch or two of sugar

Mix together and let the yeast dissolve and grow for a few minutes.

Add:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp oil (I used canola)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Mix until smooth.
Add:
1 3/4  - 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Stir until it forms a stiff dough (I added about 1 1/2 cups of flour all at once and then the rest little by little).
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes.  Dough should be smooth and elastic.
Place in a greased bowl and let it rise about 55 minutes or until doubled in size.
Remove from the bowl.
You now have two options
Option 1:
chop about 3 cups of Cavalo Negro kale (or regular kale)
fold into the dough and knead into the dough only until it's distributed evenly.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and then pat and stretch onto a greased cookie sheet.  Rest the dough for another 10 minutes.
Option 2:
Pat and stretch the dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.
Gently press about 3 cups of chopped cavalo negro kale (or regular kale) into the dough.

Finish:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Sprinkle about a 1/2 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes and 1 cup of goat cheese (in chunks is what I like) or feta onto the dough.
Add a sprinkle of parmesan or other cheese if you wish (I added just a little).
Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes or until golden on the bottom and the cheese is melted on the top.
Cut with SCISSORS.

Kid #2 - the self portrait (no jokes)

Can I just tell you that I've been wanting to make this for the longest time.  I have finally gone and made it but I feel a little guilty.  I feel guilty a lot.  I think it's partly because of my strict religious upbringing (not a bad thing at all people) and the other part... damned if I know.  I'm learning to live with my guilt.
Today I feel guilty because I have exactly two pears, three apples and a pint of cranberries that need my attention.  I just don't feel inspired to do anything with them just yet.  Maybe I should just suck it up and boil them all together and call it a day... Hey, that's not a half bad idea.  I haven't got a clue how that would turn out  - cranberry/pear/apple jam???  Either way... guilt aside... I just had to make this.  Now that I'm older I'm learning to deal with my guilt by
a) Accepting it and realizing that it's a part of what makes me wonderful... and weird.
b) Completely pushing it out of my mind by way of chocolate and cocoa and espresso powder mixed with sugar and eggs.

random shot by kid #2... still life feet

I know that I've been inundating you with all things chocolate and I promise that I'll start to smarten up very soon (although I've got this other brownie recipe that I've just got to try soon too - ack).  The appeal for me is the comfort food factor.  I don't know if I would serve this to guests.  I'm not saying that I wouldn't, I'm just not sure.  It doesn't have that wow factor that dinner guests might be expecting.  It seems and little too simple and rustic.  But jeez does it taste good.  Like amazing.  Here's a wonderful example of how wonderful this is.
I was going to take a slice of this with me to work today.  I decided not to because
a)  I don't really want anyone at work to know about it. (I'm sure that I don't need to explain)
b)  If I saved the experience for when I got home from work in the afternoon, well, the afternoon would just be that much sweeter.
c)  The mere possibility that the slice might get damaged at all being transported in my back pack was unthinkable.
The moral of my story is:  If you're feeling guilty about something... anything and you want to completely forget about the guilt and just get on with your life (guilt shoved far far away) then you've found your answer.
Thank me later.


Double Chocolate Loaf adapted from 'Baked Explorations'

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp instant espresso powder
2 lg eggs
1 lg egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz dark chocolate (60 - 72%) coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan (yeah, I measured mine just to make sure)
Place the brown sugar into a mixer bowl.  Sift in the cocoa and flour.  Add in the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder.  Mix everything just until it's combined at the bottom of the bowl.
In another bowl mix together the eggs and egg yolk until blended.  Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Mix just until combined.
Begin mixing the dry ingredients and slowly adding the wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chunks.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hr - 1 hr 10 min (mine was good after an hour).
Cool about 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack.